Content and Language

Integrated Learning (CLIL)

Supporting primary and secondary

teachers in CLIL contexts
Overview
• What is CLIL?
• What challenges do CLIL teachers
face?
• How can we plan CLIL lessons and
support our learners?
• How can we assess CLIL?
• Twenty years of CLIL
What is CLIL?
What is CLIL?
• CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) is
one form of good practice where teaching and
learning take place in an additional language.

• Content is placed first in CLIL as subject content

determines language input.

• What differentiates CLIL is ‘the planned integration of

contextualised content, cognition, communication and
culture into teaching and learning practice.’
(Coyle, D, Hood, P and Marsh, D (2010) CLIL, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
4Cs Framework
Interrelationship between Content and language
History Learning Content and language
outcomes

understand the Giving historical recount

importance of the Each year, water from the Nile rose and flooded
River Nile to the area. When the water went back, it left mud.
Ancient Egypt
Explaining cause and effect in the past:
Consequently, the water from the Nile was …
be able to As a result, the fields near the Nile were …
communicate
Expressing purpose
facts about the
Egyptians built dams to hold back the water.
River Nile in the
canals carry water inland.
past

Adapted from: (2008) Essential Geography and History 1. Madrid: Santillana/Richmond

4Cs Framework
Communication: interaction during learning

Basic Interpersonal Communicative CLIL teachers need to …

Skills (BICS)
meaningful social language for everyday provide social opportunities
classroom communication (pair and group work) for
‘Let’s look at the things we did again.’ students to put BICS into
practice in CLIL lessons.

Cognitive Academic Language CLIL teachers need to …

Proficiency (CALP)
subject-specific language of school model academic language
subjects and help learners
Have you considered how the findings understand academic
of the experiment could have been content so they can
affected by the accuracy of the develop subject literacy
measurements? and linguistic skills.
BICS or CALP?
• A
– asking for information to be repeated
– offering to get handouts for the group

• B
– talking about abstract subject
content
– understanding a range of subject-specific
texts
BICS or CALP?
A - BICS
• asking for information to be repeated
• offering to get handouts for the group

B - CALP
• talking about abstract subject content
• understanding a range of subject-
specific texts
 4Cs Framework
Cognition: thinking integral to high-quality learning
tasks to develop lower- and higher-order cognitive processing
lower-order cognitive demands higher-order cognitive demands
recalling understanding applying analysing evaluating creative
thinking
1. Identify: 2. Make a table 3. Is there 4. Look at 5. Read your 6. If you could
What can with four an the picture partner’s create an
you see in different types ecosystem again. description of ecosystem
the of animals in like this Choose the poster. near your
picture? this ecosystem. near your three Which words school, which
school? animals. describe the plants and
Why or why What could ecosystem ? animals would
not? they eat? live in it?
What would
you change?
4Cs Framework: Culture
Intercultural and international awareness:
• knowledge and understanding of
cultures beyond the classroom
• projects and exchanges with schools
from other countries
• a classroom culture of co-operative
learning and respect for others
4Cs Framework: Culture
What do you do?
I develop a
classroom culture
that emphasises
co-operative
I’m involved with a
learning and
CLIL subject-
respect for others.
specific project or
exchange with a
school from another
country.

I develop learners’
knowledge and
understanding of
cultures beyond the
classroom.
What challenges do teachers
face?
What challenges do CLIL
teachers face?
• Content knowledge
• Language level – their own and
their learners’
• Classroom communication
• Teaching difficult subject concepts
• Planning and preparation
Planning and support
Planning for content
• Plan less per lesson when CLIL is new.
• Feel comfortable with the content
yourself.
• Find and adapt authentic resources.
• Use multi-modal input – working with
the same information in different ways.
• Build on what learners know. Link to
other subjects.
Planning for language and
communication
• Know what vocabulary and grammar is
needed for the content you’re teaching.
• Understand your learners’ language
needs.
• Plan hands-on and problem-based
activities that involve communication.
What learning support is useful
for learners in CLIL lessons?
What learning support is useful
for learners in CLIL lessons?
SUPPORT is needed to:
• understand new content and language
• process new content and language
• communicate new content and
language.
Support: word, sentence, text level
Word
level

Support

Sentence
Text level
level

• longer wait time

• some use of L1
• constructive feedback
 What kinds of support?
Rocks
Igneous: ‘ignus’ means fire
Sedimentary: from pieces of
clay, sand or rock (sediments)
Metamorphic: changed by
heat or pressure
to compact
to weather
to erode
round ↔ angular
soft ↔ hard
smooth↔ rough
dark ↔ light
 What kinds of support?
by
Rocks
___ rocks are formed from ______.
Igneous: ‘ignus’ means fire have got
Sedimentary: from pieces of
___ rocks are made up of __________.
clay, sand or rock (sediments)
Metamorphic: changed by consist mainly of
heat or pressure
to compact
to weather
to erode
round ↔ angular
soft ↔ hard
smooth↔ rough
dark ↔ light
 What kinds of support?
by
Rocks
___ rocks are formed from ______.
Igneous: ‘ignus’ means fire have got
Sedimentary: from pieces of
___ rocks are made up of __________.
clay, sand or rock (sediments)
Metamorphic: changed by consist mainly of
heat or pressure
to compact
to weather
to erode
round ↔ angular
soft ↔ hard first then next after that finally
smooth↔ rough
dark ↔ light
 What kinds of support?
by
Rocks
___ rocks are formed from ______.
Igneous: ‘ignus’ means fire have got
Sedimentary: from pieces of
___ rocks are made up of __________.
clay, sand or rock (sediments)
Metamorphic: changed by consist mainly of
heat or pressure
to compact
to weather
to erode
round ↔ angular
soft ↔ hard first then next after that finally
smooth↔ rough
dark ↔ light heat + pressure metamorphic rocks
Rock
compacting – sedimentary Cycle weathering + erosion
rocks
sediments
Support: word, sentence, text level
• visuals
• realia
• labels
Word • word banks
level • glossaries
• target-language
dictionaries
• bilingual dictionaries
• high-frequency words

Support

Sentence
Text level
level
Support: word, sentence, text level
• visuals
• realia
• labels
Word • word banks
level • glossaries
• target-language
dictionaries
• bilingual dictionaries
• high-frequency words

Support
• sentence starters
Sentence • question starters
Text level
level • substitution tables
• sentence gap-fills
• sentences +
visuals
 Support: word, sentence, text level
• visuals
• realia
• labels
Word • word banks
• visual level • glossaries
organisers • target-language
• diagrams dictionaries
• video • bilingual dictionaries
• predict • high-frequency words
text
content
• model Support
texts
• language • sentence starters
frames Sentence • question starters
Text level
level • substitution tables
• sentence gap-fills
• sentences +
visuals
A writing language frame
Defining oceans and seas
Oceans and seas are large
__________________ . They all contain
_______ . However, some have a higher
______ __________ than others. Oceans and
seas are ________ because they ______ ,
they _______ and they _________. An example
of an ocean is ____________, whereas
_________ is a sea.
A speaking language frame
Presenting information about an ocean and sea
Our group found out about __________ and
__________. On this map, you can see that the
______________ is in the ________, while the
______ is in the _________. The _________
has far more _________ than the ___ . They
are both used for _________ but we think the
___________ provides more ___________.
What kinds of support do you use
in CLIL?
realia video clips model texts

pictures visual gap-fills

organisers
diagrams
language
demonstrations frames
word banks

glossaries constructive longer wait

feedback times
high
frequency question use of first
words starters language
How can teachers assess
CLIL learners?
‘Assessment is so fundamental to the success
of CLIL, it needs to be planned for in detail
before any teaching takes place.’
Llinares, Morton and Whittaker
How can teachers assess CLIL
learners?
• Build in regular formative assessment.
• Use different strategies.
• Give constructive feedback on both
content and language.
• Help learners to assess themselves and
each other (peer assessment).
• Design learner-friendly CLIL tests.
How can teachers assess CLIL
learners?
• Design learner-friendly CLIL tests:
• variety of tasks?
• can language be simplified?
• would visuals help?
• are instructions clear?
Learner-friendly CLIL tests
Summative: science
1. Circle the natural materials.
a) wood b) plastic c) metal d) glass

2. What is it made of? Write the word.

a) window _____ b) paper clips _____ c) a pencil _____ d) a bottle of water _____ or ___

3. Draw lines to the opposite adjective. 4. Which material is it?

soft opaque This material is smooth, transparent and it’s heavy.
smooth dull
transparent hard 5. Draw a mug. Write the name of the material.
heavy rough Why is it a good material?
shiny light

This mug is made of _________ because it’s ______.

CLIL assessment: constructive
feedback on content and language
• It was a good idea to include a map of
Taiwan. It’s useful to label more features.
• You identified the changes shown in the
graph correctly. Next time use numbers
from the graph to justify your statements.
• Your explanation of why new industries
developed in Taiwan is written in excellent
English. The details will be helpful for other
students.
(Adapted from, Sibley, S 2003)
Formative assessment:
different strategies

A B C
I think
the I think the I think the
wood plastic metal will
will sink. will float. sink.
 Assessment: recording self and
peer progress in CLIL
COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS
Name: ____________________ Date Date Date Date
Can …
• answer questions about art: closed
open
• ask questions about art: closed
open
• give an opinion about my/her/his art
• describe my/her/his work using art vocabulary
 Assessment: recording self and
peer progress in CLIL
COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS
Name: ____________________ Date Date Date Date
Can …
• answer questions about art: closed
open
• ask questions about art: closed
open
• give an opinion about my/her/his art
• describe my/her/his work using art vocabulary

LANGUAGE AND COGNITION

Name: ________________________ well improving need help
Can …
• remember new art vocabulary
• classify examples of art work into different groups
• apply new techniques to a drawing/painting/collage
• use a range of different media
• evaluate my/her/his art work
CLIL – 20 years on
• CLIL ‘is more than the 4Cs Framework
… it develops subject literacy… and
‘students’ ability to produce well-written
“academic text” is part of the learning
agenda.’ (Ting, T 2015)
Further information
Cambridge English Empower: bringing Learning Oriented
Assessment into the classroom – 3 June 2015

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